by Jan Anderson
The Boulder Monitor received the top honor for a Montana weekly or small daily newspaper at the Montana Newspaper Association’s 123rd Annual Convention in Billings Saturday, June 14.
The Thomas Dimsdale Sweepstakes Award presented to the Monitor is named for the first permanent editor of Montana’s first newspaper. Awarded annually to only one weekly or small daily newspaper in the state, the Dimsdale recognizes excellence in nearly four dozen news, photography and advertising categories judged as part of the MNA Better Newspaper Contest. The contest was judged this year by professional journalists from Utah.
The top honor for a large daily Montana newspaper, the Sam Gilluly Sweepstakes Award, was presented to the Great Falls Tribune.
The Monitor received ten first place awards in addition to winning the Dimsdale and the Division I Sweepstakes Award.
In the Community Service category, the Monitor was presented with both the first and second place awards for coverage of an affordable housing project and of a community development Horizons project.
Judges gave the Monitor a first place award for the best freedom of information effort, recognizing work by the newspaper staff to insure public access to public information.
The Monitor was also judged to have the best overall design and composition.
Other first place awards came for editorial writing, headline writing, in-depth and investigative reporting, government reporting, lifestyle pages, health reporting, and newspaper promotion. Coverage of a rape trial won reporter Sarah Swan top honors in the in-depth and investigative reporting category.
In all, the Monitor was presented with 26 awards for work published in calendar year 2007.
Other area newspapers were also honored for their work. The Whitehall Ledger received a first place award for general excellence, and another first place for column writing went to Ledger publisher Greg Corr. Another half dozen second, third and fourth place awards went to the Ledger. The Helena Independent Record received first place awards in the daily division for in-depth and investigative reporting, government reporting, outdoors reporting, best single black and white ad, best advertising series, and best small space advertising.
The Photo of the Year award, which went to the Billings Gazette, featured Boulder native and saddle bronc rider Justin McCauley in competition at the MontanaFair Rodeo in August 2007. The photo, judged to be the best by any Montana newspaper for 2007, shows McCauley on the ground facing up, the bronc looming about three feet above. McCauley was uninjured, reported the Gazette.
Boulder Monitor honored as best weekly newspaper in Montana
Saturday, June 21, 2008
Copyright The Boulder Monitor, 2008. All rights reserved.
